Crude investment
The case of the Yadana pipeline in Burma
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8097561 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jensine Larsen (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1998 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 3-13 |
| Publication date | 1998-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-4810 • E-ISSN: 1472-6033 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14672715.1998.10411049 |
| OpenAlex | W2325234424 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 1 |
Documentation about gross violations of human rights committed by the Burmese dictatorship against its own people has catapulted the formerly isolated Southeast Asian country onto the international stage.The condemnation of Burma's military junta by seven Nobel Prize winners, including Bishop Desmond Tutu, who has called Burma "the South Africa of the nineties," challenges the way the world does business.The largest foreign investors in Burma--multinational oil companies like Unocal, Total, and ARCo-adamantly insist that their operations will benefit the Burmese people.Meanwhile, scholars and human rights activists contend that petrodollars only fuel the brutal regime, contributing to widespread oppression.This article examines the position of multinational oil corporations within Burma's unique economic and political context through the dictatorship's most prominent foreign infrastructure project: Unocal and Total's Yadana natural gas pipeline.Careful scrutiny of the human and environmental impacts ofthis venture will reveal that foreign petroleum development does indeed play an inescapably oppressive role in Burma. by Jensine LarsenAs Burmese citizens, we certainly want to see Burma becoming a developed country.But we must say that material development alone, which lacks the ingredients of human, moral, and environmental factors,is far from being desirable.The so-called"constructive engagement" may be constructive for those countries who are desperate to devour our natural wealth.It may also be constructive for the SLORC [State Law and Order RestorationCouncil]because it givesthemthe senseof beingrecognizedas wellas a hugefmancial wealth.But how can we consider such engagement constructive when it results in blood and lives being shed on it, when familiesare scattered and hopes are shattered, when so many widows and orphans are left behind to fend for themselves.May we be allowed, at this point, to remind you that your activitiesare in directconnection with these miseries.-From an open letterfrom the Karen Youth Organization to multinational corporations operating in Burma "Exhilarating" Energy DevelopmentsAnyone with doubts about the importance of oil exploitation for Burma's ruling military junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC),* need only glance at a copy of the 29 April 1993 edition ofthe state-controlled newspaper, New Light ofMyanmar, to have their doubts dispelled.'"Most exhilarating" cries the headline of a feature article reporting on the * In November 1997 Burma's ruling junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) changed its name to the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).In this article SPDC will be used to identify the regime for specific events after November 1997 and SLORC/SPDC when referring to the regime in general.VoL 30, NO.3 (1998
Ancient history · Economics · Investment (military · Operating system · Pipeline (software · Political science · Politics · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Cambodian History and Society · Computer Science · History · Law · Natural Resources and Economic Development
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,22 |
| Citation span | 1999 - 2024 (26) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |